In a united appeal, 18 Catholic colleges asked the Obama administration in September to broaden the religious exemption offered within new guidelines on women’s health issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. They say the requirements would force religious institutions to participate in health insurance plans that include contraceptives and sterilization. The schools’ appeal followed a scorching critique by Carol Keehan, of the Sisters of Charity, a health care reform supporter who represents the Catholic Health Association. She called the proposed religious exemption “wholly inadequate to protect the conscience rights of Catholic hospital and health care organizations.” In a letter to H.H.S. Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the president of the University of Notre Dame, John Jenkins, C.S.C., said the current guidelines place Catholic institutions in the “impossible position” of paying for contraception, sterilization or abortifacients or depriving students and employees of health insurance plans.
Broader Exemption Demanded
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
A Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, by Father Terrance Klein
Legally, the students at St. John Bosco are considered homeschooled. But their in-person school days, during which the students wear uniforms, are much like those at any other small school.
In a speech at his weekly general audience, Pope Francis said that the cardinal virtue of temperance “lets one enjoy the goods of life better.”
Organizers of the archdiocese‘s restructuring process have pointed out that there are far more seats available in the pews in the city than people attending Mass, and there are more funerals than baptisms.